Marriage of Frank and Betty (Hogg) Nims
Frank Leslie Nims, son of Lee and Ethel Nims, was born in 1917 on the family farm in Sumas, Washington. In "This I Remember", Frank documented his memories of life growing up on the farm in Sumas.
Betty Miles Hogg, daughter of John and Beatrice Hogg, was born in 1918 in Vancouver, Washington, where she was raised.
Frank met Betty at a mixer dance when they were both working towards degrees in education at Western Washington State College of Education, now Western Washington University, in Bellingham, Washington. They met the very day that Frank received his letter of acceptance for flying cadet training, so he had something to celebrate. Having served for 3 years in the National Guard while in college, after graduation Frank completed flight training and joined the Army Air Corps. Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in March of 1940, Frank's first assignment was at Grey Field, Fort Lewis, Washington. Frank and Betty's courtship survived the separation during flying school and continued upon his return to the area. In August 1941 they were married. Four months later, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the United States entered World War II.
Serving first as a pilot, then in various staff and command roles, Frank's military service career spanned 23 years, and he retired from the U.S. Air Force in August 1961, with a rank of Lt. Colonel.
While in the service, Frank and Betty had five children:
| Linda Jean Nims | Born in 1942 at Fort Lewis, Washington. Linda died of cancer in August, 2006, In Albequerque, New Mexico. |
| David John Nims | Born in 1944 at San Rafael, California |
| Daniel Fred Nims | Born in 1949 at Holyoke, Massachusetts |
| Ronald Lee Nims | Born in 1958 at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho |
| Richard Paul Nims | Born in 1958 at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Richard, a twin to Ron, died at birth. |
Upon retiring from the Air Force, Frank and Betty bought a 100-acre farm in Cove, Oregon. Later that year, they purchased another 700-acre farm, about a mile away from their home place. During their farm years, Frank and Betty were engaged in a variety of farming and ranching enterprises, focusing in the latter years on their 85 acres of sweet cherries. In 1978, Frank received the Chamber of Commerce award as County Orchardist of the Year. He was also elected county president of the Union County Farm Bureau and served 9 years on the Oregon Farm Bureau Board of Directors.
While in Cove, interest and involvement in national and Oregon state politics and conservative issues motivated Frank to found Oregonians In Action (OIA) , a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the rights of property owners. With his political interests requiring Frank to spend more and more time in western Oregon, in 1989, Frank and Betty sold their Cove properties and bought an 80-acre farm near Sherwood, Oregon, about 30-minutes drive south of Portland.
Throughout his life, Frank has been an avid hunter and fisherman. During his Air Force career and in his early life in Cove, Frank enjoyed hunting waterfowl, upland game birds, deer, and elk. Because of his love of salmon and steelhead fishing, in 1980 Frank purchased 145 acres on the Siletz river, which he used as a fishing get-away property. He also planted trees and harvested timber from the Siletz place. Frank and Betty spent much enjoyable time on the Siletz, staying in the mobile home Frank purchased and moved onto the property. They eventually sold the Siletz property in 1996.
Frank's other passion was genealogy. His early interest in tracking his family history uncovered a Nims Family Association, which had been dormant since 1938. In 1979, Frank organized a reactivation of the Nims Family Association, and it has been active since, with regional meetings around the country annually, and a biannual meeting at Deerfield, Massachusetts, where the common ancestor of all Nims, Godfrey Nims, settled in 1667 and a home built by his son John Nims around 1710 still stands.
Betty passed away in November, 2008. The video below was played at her memorial. Frank passed away on May 20, 2017, just 3 months short of his 100th birthday. Both died peacefully in their family home in Sherwood.
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